Ostberg targets podium return

Mads Ostberg chases a podium finish in the latest round of the WRC season in Finland

M-Sport Stobart Ford driver Mads Ostberg will hope that a recent win in Estonia will help push him towards a second podium finish of the WRC season in Finland this weekend.

Ostberg beat five time WRC winner Markko Martin to victory on the Auto24 Rally Estonia as he continued his preparations for the Finnish event.

That win was the first for the new Fiesta RS WRC outside the World Rally Championship and the 23-year-old said it was the ideal warm-up for one of the true classics on the calendar.

"Estonia was fantastic - not just because we took the victory but also because we tried several different set-ups and we found one that I am now very happy with," he said. "I am very pleased with how the rally went - it was a hard fight with Martin, he was faster than us on the first day but we had good pacenotes.

"The rally has also prepared us nicely for Finland - we have worked hard to try to get back on the podium after Rally Sweden at the start of the season and now we want to get on the podium again. I think Finland could be a good opportunity for us and we really want a good result at this event - both for the championship and for our sponsors."

Henning Solberg is another Stobart driver eager to impress this weekend as he seeks to reward the sponsors who has allowed him to keep his programme going this season with the new Fiesta.

"I'm feeling really positive after a good result in Greece and I'm looking forward to getting back to the WRC - Finland is one of the oldest events on the calendar and one of my favourite rallies," he said. "It's got some of the fastest stages of the year and you need to be brave if you want to succeed but it's not all about going flat-out, there's some very technical sections too.

"I've spent the summer break working with sponsors and trying to ensure I will be here for the rest of the year, it's looking likely now but I've still got a bit of work to do. I'm just really looking forward to getting back in the car and I just want to finish with a good result for my sponsors."

Matthew Wilson and Evgeny Novikov will also be in action in M-Sport Stobart colours this weekend.